WIFR: Congressman Kinzinger introduces bill to protect power plants

BYRON, Ill. (WIFR) - Illinois has six nuclear power plants throughout the state including one in Byron. 16th District Representative Adam Kinzinger says he wants to change the way the plants are regulated to protect the jobs of the more than 3,000 plant employees.

Kinzinger says a new bi-partisan bill would make it cheaper to operate the plants by adjusting how much operators pay, streamlining the process to shut down a reactor and make it easier to license new types of nuclear power.

In 2016, Illinois state lawmakers helped prevent two plants from shutting down. Kinzinger says the Nuke Act creates more certainty for plant operations without putting the safety of workers at risk.

"The 16th district has the most nuclear power plants of any in the country and we have four nuclear power plants. But nuclear power has been somewhat priced out of the market and also in many cases these plans are coming to the end of their life," said Kinzinger.

Exelon sent a statement responding to Kinzinger's legislation saying "Exelon supports the Nuke Act and we appreciate Congressman Kinzinger's continued advocacy for zero-carbon nuclear energy and the thousands of jobs it creates in Illinois."

The original article and full video interview can be found on the WIFR 23 website here.

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Adam Kinzinger is a member of the Air National Guard. Use of his military rank, job titles, and photographs in uniform does not imply endorsement by the Department of the Air Force or the Department of Defense.